Adorama Photo Bazaar

An emporium of gadgets, gizmos, and doodads you never knew you wanted

Welcome to the Adorama Photo Bazaar! Our new online emporium showcases special, hand-picked products we think all you photographers and imaging enthusiasts will love, but that you might not come across in an everyday search of our catalog. The products you'll find here are not only fun but very affordable—meaning great for gifts!

Be sure to check back often, because the Adorama Photo Bazaar will be updated every season with new items chosen by our knowledgeable, award-winning staff. Without further ado, we proudly present the holiday season's first selection of cool Photo Bazaar products!

DIMINUTIVE DRIVE: SanDisk Cruzer-Fit 16GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive

USB thumb drives earned their name because they’re about thumb size, but this tiny version is more like the tip of your pinky. It’s so small that you can simply leave it in a laptop’s USB port without risking breaking it off, and skip having to eject and pull it out each time you close up. It can be used to transfer files, but we like it for drag-and-drop backup.

What it does: Lets you leave a flash drive in your laptop all the time, for fast transfer and backup

BLIND AMBITION: LensCoat Kwik Camo Photography Blind

A blind lets you get inside the “fear circle” of wild animals so you can photograph them unaware and fill the frame more fully. This 2.5-ounce cotton/poly blind simply drapes over you and your gear—no setup needed—and its woodsy camouflage pattern spares you having to attach foliage. A mesh window unzips for shooting, and there’s even a top slot for flash.

What it does: Hides you from skittish animals so you can get the natural-looking wildlife shots you want

GEL IT, BABY: The Strobist Collection

Dedicated shoe-mount strobes are now so sophisticated that you can use them for studio-style effects. Add color to those effects with these 55 Rosco gels, all packed in a clamshell case. Each filter is sized at 1.5x3.25 inches to fit over your flash tube, and colors range from warm to cool plus ND. You can get a Lumiquest gel holder, but a little tape works fine!

What it does: Lets you color the light from your flash with just about any hue that suits your fancy

LIGHT THE WAY: Flashpoint X-Series 2.4GHz Remote Flash Trigger Kit

An affordable, reliable alternative to brand names, our AAA-powered flash trigger features a radio transmitter that mounts on your camera’s hot shoe and a receiver that plugs into a wireless flash. Supplied with cables and adapter plugs, it has 16 dial-set channels so you can keep your flash from being set off by other shooters. And its range is almost 600 feet!

What it does: Allows you to trigger your flash wirelessly at distances up to nearly 600 feet

MAKE IT SHINE: Adorama ProJet Metallic Silver Inkjet Paper

Printing on metallic-surfaced paper is trendy, but it can cost its weight in gold at a photo lab. Try it at home using our affordable, Adorama-exclusive ProJet Metallic Silver. Available in sizes up to 11x17, the paper works with both dye- and pigment-based printing inks. (If you’re using a pigment printer, be sure to select photo black!)

ZOOM CLOSE: Flashpoint Pro Optic Macro Zoomer

Our new Pro Optic Macro Zoomer is a one-of-a-kind extension tube that you “zoom” (by rotation) to change its length. It eliminates the hassle of removing your lens and switching to a different tube to change magnification—and even lets you set in-between extensions not possible with tubes. Plus it maintains full AE and AF operation with Canon and Nikon SLRs.

What they do: Lets you change close-up magnification without having to swap out separate tubes

GOING WIDE: Pro Optic 14mm f/2.8 ED ASPH Wide-Angle Lens

Pop Photo raves about our 14mm rectilinear wide-angle—a manual-focus lens that covers a full-frame sensor yet has a fast f/2.8 maximum aperture. Buyers tell us you’d pay three times more for a brand-name equivalent with its optical performance. Its ultrawide 115.7-degree angle of view is perfect for architecture, big landscapes, and tight interiors.

What they do: Produces ultrawide-angle shots that are sharp, square, and dramatic

LITTLE BIG LIGHT: LitePad 3-inch Circular LED Light

The littlest LitePad works like a mini softbox, but is actually a three-inch diameter flat-panel LED that’s a third of an inch thick. It provides a soft, daylight-balanced light that’s ideal for close-up subjects such as jewelry, coins, or food. Powered by AC or a take-anywhere AA pack, it beats the frontal light of built-in flash because it’s softer and can be positioned to control modeling.

What it does: Gives you precise control over the quality and direction of close-up lighting

DOLLY BUSTER: Glidetrack Mobislyder Portable Camera Slider

Smooth “tracking” shots are a hallmark of modern moviemaking, but ordinarily require expensive, cumbersome dolly gear. This ingenious 17-inch slider makes tracking shots affordable, and weighs little more than a pound. It comes with mounts for just about any video-enabled mobile device, including smartphones, compact cameras, and smaller DSLRs or camcorders.

What it does: Gives you smooth tracking shots with little setup and at an affordable price

VESTED INTEREST: Newswear Women’s Digital Chestvest

Camera vests distribute the weight of your gear evenly, rather than pulling at your neck or shoulder like camera bags and packs. This weather-resistant Denier nylon vest does just that—but also conforms to a woman’s shape. Four Velcro-secured compartments allow you to stow a DLSR body, a telephoto or long zoom, and lots of other imporant items.

What it does: Makes women’s photo gear more accessible and less of a burden

TABULA RASA: Flashpoint Shooting Table with Plexiglas

Our low-priced shooting table bends Plexi into the smooth curve needed for a seamless background when shooting products, artwork, and auction items. Its translucent surface lets you light your subject from below to make it “float”—or you can use the supplied clamps to secure background paper for colors. The table folds down to just two inches thick!

What it does: Lets you create professional-looking “tabletop” photographs at a discount price

CASE CLOSED: Flashpoint SealTite Hard Cases

Made of high-impact plastic with a tight-fitting neoprene gasket and adjustable foam interior, our SealTite cases cushion gear against photography’s hard knocks, not to mention dust and moisture. Available in a range of sizes, they’re way less expensive than competing products. That means you can save your money for what you put inside them!

MACRO MUST: Adorama Single Focusing Rail

When you’re shooting a really small close-up subject, it’s best to focus by moving your camera back and forth. And if your camera’s on a tripod, that means picking up and moving the whole rig and having to recompose. Our 6.5-inch rail mounts on your existing head and lets you make fine distance adjustments with a single knob—without ever touching your tripod!

What it does: Makes close-up focusing and framing easier and much more controllable

LEVER LOVE: Flashpoint F-2127 Carbon Fiber Tripod

Pros may tell you that collar locks are de rigueur on a tripod. Pay no heed. Lever locks, aka flip locks, make extending your tripod’s legs much quicker and easier—so you’re less likely to lose an important shot. Our affordable lever-lock model is made of sturdy, lightweight 8X carbon fiber, has three leg sections, and supports rigs up to 17.6 pounds. Get it with our F-1 ball head.

What it does: Gives you solid support for your camera with faster set-up time

CASE CLOSED: Mobile Edge Women’s ScanFast Element Briefcase

What makes this case “checkpoint friendly”? When you unzip and open it, your laptop is visible behind a clear plastic window, resting in a padded compartment that fits models up to 16 inches. The TSA says you can just leave the case open as it goes through X-ray—no need to remove your computer. The Element even incorporates a wireless security shield.

What they do: Speeds your laptop through airport security without the need to remove it from the case

SWEET AND DISCREET: Kelly Moore B-Hobo Bag

It looks like a big, stylish handbag, but thieves will never know that the 10x15x4-inch B-Hobo holds a full complement of photo gear: a camera body with long lens, extra optics, and lots of other stuff. Velcro dividers let you adjust the interior to suit your equipment, like a regular camera bag, while two straps offer a choice of shoulder or cross-body carrying.

What they do: Protects women’s photo gear in a stylish bag that doesn’t advertise its contents

CLICK AND STITCH: Adorama Panamatic Head

Designed for the seamless panoramas created by digital “stitching,” the Panamatic screws right into your tripod head. Center its bubble to level your camera, then simply rotate the camera from one click stop to the next, shooting a frame each time. (Stick with a normal lens.) The resulting frames will be perfectly aligned—and give you smooth, artifact-free panoramas.

What it does: Produces perfectly-aligned frames for seamless manual or automatic stitching

SOFT AND SHARP: Lensbaby Spark

What, an “entry level” Lensbaby? Yes, this youngest of the family makes selective, tilt-focus effects totally affordable. Its glass doublet lens has a fixed f/5.6 aperture, small enough to forgive photographers still learning how to bend the lens barrel just so, to nail the “sweet spot” they want—and easily achieve the soft-and-sharp effects that are all the rage.

What they do: Makes trendy soft-and-sharp effects accessible to any Nikon or Canon DSLR user

LIGHT BUNDLE: Flashpoint Bright Beam 800 with Barn Doors and Stand

Our 800-watt tungsten-quartz lighting kit is more than lots of WYSIWYG photons. It comes with an air-cushioned black stand (an essential accessory) and attached barn doors that let you control the spread and spill of its light—or “feather” the edges of the beam. It’s a super-affordable solution for studio lighting, and works with Flashpoint light modifiers.

What it does: Provides a WYSIWYG lighting setup that’s all you need to get started, for a song

FAST COMPANY: Flashpoint Action Mount Head

Though it’s ideal for fast attachment to handlebars and other tubular structures, our action head features Velcro straps that allow it to be secured to many other things—helmets, tree branches, railings and the like. Mount your lightweight camera or camcorder on its built-in ball head and you’ll get new perspectives and effects, both in stills and in video.

What it does: Lets you put your camera in places you can’t hand-hold it—or wouldn’t be safe doing so!

POP TOP: Flashpoint Bottle-Top Pod

Forgot your tripod? Not enough time to set it up? Want to put yourself in the picture? This clever, pocket-sized widget incorporates a ball head that you attach to your camera, then mounts atop just about any bottle, from Coke to wine. Its ball head lets you angle the shot any way you want. Suggestion: If the bottle’s empty, put water in it for more stability!

What it does: Let you keep a camera support in your pocket, for on-the-spot self-portraits or long exposures

LITTLE SOFTIE: Flashpoint Softbox for Shoe-Mount Flash

Most flash-softening devices for dedicated strobes are too small to make much difference. Why? Because the only real way to make light softer is by increasing the area of the source itself. (Think of all that sky on a cloudy day.) Our little softbox measures 16 inches square, big enough to produce soft, flattering flash, and comes with hardware needed for attachment.

What it does: Provides softer, more flattering light than other small on-camera diffusers and reflectors

STICKY SOLUTION: Flashpoint Suction Cup Ball Head

Stick a ball head on a good suction cup, like we did for this special support, and you can attach a camera, light, or other screw-mount device to any available smooth surface. That means you can shoot from, or get lights into, spots where it would be impossible to set up a tripod or stand. A clamp squeezes out air for attachment, and a small tab releases the suction.

What it does: Lets you secure cameras and lighting gear in places too awkward for tripods or light stands

COMPUTER PLATFORM: Tripad TR-549 Tripod-Mountable Portable Workspace

When you're shooting in the great outdoors and it's time to offload your memory cards or check your shots onscreen, don't sit on the cold, cold ground with a laptop in your lap. Slip this dandy device over your tripod (no need to remove the camera) to create a flat, stable work surface. Its rigid, fold-up polymer platform measures 12.75x15 inches and weighs just 3.51 pounds, and features slide-out extensions for extra workspace. Perfect for computer-tethered shooting too!

What it does: Provides a stable, tripod-supported platform for comfortable laptop use when you’re shooting in the field

INCREDIBLY CLOSE: Flashpoint Digital Microscope Camera

Call it an ultra-macro point-and-shoot—our specialized, AAA-powered camera makes high-magnification photography easy. By adjusting its manual-focus wheel to make the LCD image sharp, you can get pictures that reveal the tiniest details in a subject. (Zooming gives magnifications in the hundreds-X range.) A built-in LED ringlight insures adequate, shadowless light for five-megapixel stills or standard video, which are saved to an SD card. This pocketable camera is great for photographing coins, stamps, and other small collectibles. We recommend getting the accessory kit too!

What it does: Lets you shoot way closer than you can even with a dedicated macro lens

BLOCKING MOVE: Lenskirt Anti-Reflection Lens Hood

We all find ourselves taking pictures through glass, whether from cars, in aquariums, or out the windows of tall buildings. It can be tough to do, though, without reflections getting in the way. Lenskirt solves the problem: It’s a flexible black hood that’s held in place against glass by suction, and is secured around the lens with a drawstring. Plus it’s collapsible, so you can stow it easily in your pocket, purse, or camera bag.

What it does: Lets you shoot through glass without reflections ruining your picture

GLASS ACT: Pro Optic 85mm f/1.4 ASPH Telephoto

This full-frame lens’s moderate-tele focal length and wide maximum aperture are the ideal combination for portraiture—85mm minimizing unflattering facial distortion, and f/1.4 providing shallow depth of field that softens distracting backgrounds. Yet it costs a fraction of name-brand 85mm f/1.4 optics, which can set you back a thousand bucks. Currently available in mounts for Nikon and Canon, our manual-focus prime lets you focus as close as 3.3 feet, for tight portrait framing. And its optical performance gets rave reviews from customers.

What they do: Lets you shoot close portraits with flattering perspective and soft, smooth backgrounds

WISE DISGUISE: Adorama Slinger Camouflage Backpack/Shoulder Pack

Reduce your gear’s visibility to wildlife (or the enemy!) with this camouflage-patterned pro bag. An internal cradle within its 10x10x4-inch interior lets you leave a 300mm lens mounted on your DSLR. The partitions are adjustable, though, should you want to carry a normal complement of gear. Ridiculously inexpensive, the single-strap Slinger has a water-resistant exterior with mesh pockets that are backed with Neoprene, which keeps wet items from soaking through.

SPY EYE: Adorama Mirror Scope

When you screw our crazy spy scope onto the front of your lens, it just looks like you’re shooting with a longer lens. But this unique attachment actually houses a 90-degree mirror that allows you to photograph camera-shy subjects off to the side, without pointing the camera at them. Available in versions for 52mm and 58mm front threads (expandable with step-up or step-down rings), it rotates to either side, plus up, down, and all around.

What they do: Lets you photograph camera-shy subjects unawares—at a right angle to them!

LENS LONGING: Pro Optic 2X Teleconverters

If you’re reluctant to invest in a lens long enough for sports or wildlife photography, consider a Pro Optic teleconverter: It adds magnifying power to your existing lenses. A 2X teleconverter placed between lens and camera turns a 135mm into a 270mm, or the long end of a 70-200mm zoom into 400mm (equal to 400mm and 600mm, or better, with small-sensor DSLRs). That’s plenty for far-away creatures. Our Pro Optic teleconverters are available for Nikon, Canon, Pentax, and Sony cameras, plus T-mount models.

LIGHTEN UP: Adorama Macro Flecta Reflector

No, it’s not a sunhat. Adorama’s Macro Flecta actually adds light to a subject by bouncing it directly forward from your camera. This simple trick brightens the dark shadows created by strong, directional illumination—shadows that can ruin tight portraits or delicate close-ups. And unlike regular photographic reflectors, you don’t have to hold the Macro Flecta in position. You just slip the 12-inch-diameter white fabric circle onto your lens, where an elastic band and Velcro strips hold it in place. When you’re done, the Macro Flecta collapses to one-third its full diameter for easy transport.

What it does: Brightens shadows and lowers contrast for more pleasing portraits and close-ups

POP TENT: Adorama De-Shadow Box

Selling stuff on e-Bay? It’s important to show good photos of an item when you list it for auction so prospective buyers know it’s in acceptable condition. Bad pictures can cost you a sale—which is why you need our De-Shadow Box. It’s a collapsible, miniature photo studio that pops up like a tiny tent. The sides are translucent, so they diffuse the light from the supplied halogen lamps before it reaches the item you’ve placed inside, producing a more attractive result. The De-Shadow Box is also a great way to document small-scale artwork or to do macro photos in the comfort of home.

What it does: Creates effortless soft light, for perfect shots of small items for online auctions, artists’ documentation, and macro photography

TIPPING NOT REQUIRED: Flashpoint Tripod Butler

Tripod-using photographers have pockets full of paraphernalia when they’re shooting—lens cap, filters, cable release, maybe some gaffer’s tape. And they usually can’t remember which pocket they put something in. Our Flashpoint Tripod Butler ends pocket perplexity by keeping all your stuff safe and visible in the three compartments of its nylon sling. It attaches quickly to your tripod’s legs with Velcro straps, supporting up to nine pounds. That makes it ideal for changing lenses on the fly, and spares you having to put valuable merchandise on the ground when you’re working. Fill it with pebbles and it can even be used as a tripod weight!

What it does: Holds accessories safely and in plain sight between your tripod’s legs when you’re shooting

WARMING TREND: Adorama Finger Shooting Gloves

Fingerless gloves give you manual dexterity when you’re shooting in the cold, but they don’t keep your fingertips warm. Flashpoint Finger Shooting Gloves expose only your trigger finger and thumb, the two digits you need to operate a camera, with the remaining three fingers covered and warm. But even the open fingers have tips that are “flapped” to keep those key appendages toasty when you’re not actually operating the camera. When you’re ready to adjust the camera and shoot, you just pull back the flaps. Our unique gloves have wrist straps so you won’t lose them, and are made of water-resistant polyester with a grip surface on the palm side.

What they do: Keep your fingers warm until you’re ready to shoot, with flapped tips for thumb and forefinger

CABLE ENABLER: Kaiser Strap-On Cable Release Adapter

Serious photographers love to shoot with compact cameras, which free them from the weight and bulk of DSLRs. But setting them to slow shutter speeds for low-light shooting or creative effects can be a problem because pressing the shutter button with your finger usually causes blur. Most compacts don’t have a traditional threaded socket in the middle of their shutter button, so if you want to use an inexpensive mechanical cable release you’ll need the Kaiser Strap-On Cable Release Adapter. This simple but ingenious device is a strap that wraps around your compact camera, secured with Velcro so that its threaded socket is positioned above your camera’s shutter button. Just screw in a generic mechanical cable release and you’re all set.

What it does: Lets you use an inexpensive mechanical cable release on a compact camera, for blur-free long exposures

POWER SAVERS: Flashpoint Professional Camera Grips

It’s tough to pay top dollar for brand-name accessories when you’ve just bought an expensive DSLR. Fortunately, that needn’t stop you from buying a dedicated camera grip—one that gives you both longer battery life and a more comfortable hold for vertical shooting. Powered by AA batteries, our Flashpoint Professional Camera Grips come in full-function, cosmetically correct versions for nearly all popular DSLRs, yet cost a fraction of their name-brand equivalents.

What they do: Provide longer-lasting power and more comfortable vertical shooting at a fraction of the name-brand price

CLOSE AND CLOSER: Pro Optic Auto Extension Tubes

Few kinds of picture-taking excite photographers more than close-ups. But dedicated macro lenses are very expensive, and screw-in supplementary lenses usually don’t produce high-quality results. Extension tubes are the way to go—and we sell our Pro Optic Auto Extension Tubes for a fraction of the price of their name-brand equivalents. Their three interconnecting tubes slip between camera and lens, alone or stacked in combination to achieve the exact degree of magnification you want, yet with full autoexposure control.

What they do: Allows high-quality, high-magnification close-up photography at an affordable price, and with full exposure control

MACRO MARVEL: Adorama VL-48 Macro Ring Light

Ring light is a great source for close-up photos, producing illumination that’s enveloping yet not flat. And our macro ring light lets you shoot with flash or LED light—your choice. Along with its flash tube it incorporates dozens of cool-burning LEDs, which let you see exactly what you’ll get through your viewfinder. It mounts easily around the rim of your lens (47- to 77-millimeter diameter threads), powered by a couple of AA batteries inside a housing that slips into the camera’s hotshoe. A tripod is recommended!

What it does: Provides a choice of flash or LED ring light for macro photography at a super-low price

OPTICAL OPTIONS: Pro Optic Lens Adapters

Don’t feel trapped by your DSLR’s dedicated lens system. Our Pro Optic lens adapters let you use all sorts of name-brand interchangeable lenses on other manufacturers’ camera bodies! Own one of the new Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras? We have adapters that let you mount nearly any SLR/DSLR lens on these tiny, mirrorless bodies. Or you can put old Canon FD manual-focus lenses on Canon EOS autofocus bodies.

What they do: Lets you use a variety of existing brand-name lenses on other manufacturers’ camera models

LEADING LED: Flashpoint 312 LED Light

Our super-efficient LED light, which mounts right on your camera’s hotshoe, is like carrying around a 100-watt household bulb with you. Yet it runs for hours on one or two dedicated batteries. It’s also dimmable, great for balancing its output with ambient light. Want to match the ambient light’s color too? Twin tungsten/daylight LED arrays let you dial in any color temperature, indoors or out!

LIVELONG DISK: Millenniata 4.7GB M-Disc

Sad to say, but even the best recordable disks (both CDs and DVDs) can degrade over time, or when improperly stored. This is due to deterioration of the organic dyes with which they record digital data. And that, of course, can destroy carefully archived photos and video. Millenniata’s M-Disc achieves better permanence by recording your images with microscopic pits in a rock-like substrate, similar to the manufacture of commercial, prerecorded CDs and DVDs. The finalized disks are readable by conventional drives, but you need an M-Disc-enabled writer to burn them.

What they do: Safely stores important photos and videos using long-lived Millenniata technology

If you want to save your photos and video on long-lived M-Discs, which achieve their permanence by eschewing organic dyes, you’ll have to burn them with a drive that supports the new technology. LG’s external, USB-connected drive is a compact, affordable choice, and burns Blu-ray disks in the bargain. It incorporates the higher-energy laser needed for the M-Disc.

What it does: Records long-lived Millenniata M-Discs in addition to all other CD/DVD and Blu-ray functions

HELPING HAND: Adorama Camera Grip Hand Strap

This adjustable hand strap simply attaches with a tripod screw to the bottom of your camera. Not only does it lessen the need for a neck-chafing shoulder strap, but it also gives you a more secure, one-handed hold on the camera, much like the straps found on the sides of conventionally-styled video camcorders.

What it does: Gives you a firm grip on your DSLR for shooting, and can spare you a shoulder strap too

WI-FI WONDER: Eye-Fi Connect X2 Wi-Fi 4GB SDHC Memory Card

This clever little memory card slips into the usual slot on your camera—but it does more than just store your pictures. Using built-in wireless transmission and a Wi-Fi or cell phone connection, it sends pictures straight to your computer or an online sharing site as you’re shooting. There’s no need to stop for a download, hard-wired or otherwise. In fact, you never have to take the card out of the camera or delete images to clear space for more. It can do that automatically, as it fills up! Also available in 8GB.

What it does: Sends your pictures wirelessly straight to your computer or the web.

FULL TILT: Flashpoint 3232 Swivel-Tilt Head for Monopods

Monopods are a great compromise between tripod use and handheld photography, offering advantages of each. And our special screw-in head, which can support rigs over 13 pounds, makes them more versatile by allowing you to point the camera up or down without leaning the monopod forward or backward. (Doing that can affect its stability.) The head rotates too, and we think it’s better than a ballhead because there’s none of the usual side-to-side play.

What it does: Lets you securely tilt your camera on a monopod without using a loosey-goosey ballhead

HANSEL HELPER Bushnell Backtrack Personal GPS Location Finder

Photographers often take their best shots by getting lost, but they usually forget to leave crumbs along the way. This dandy, palm-sized GPS location finder/tracker guides you back to where you came from, whether the trailhead or your car. You just keep heading in the direction indicated by an arrow on the LCD. The BackTrack also tells you how far you have to go, and can store up to three starting points.

What it does: Leads lost photographers back to where they started shooting

GRIP AND SHOOT Flipbac Camera Grips

The beauty of compact cameras is, well, that they’re compact enough to stick in a pocket or purse. But their small size and sleek design can make them hard to hold securely—creating a greater risk of blurred pictures. Attach one of these nonslip grips to your camera, though, and you’ll instantly be a much steadier shooter. And you’ll stop dropping your camer, for goodness’ sake.

What they do: Provides a steadier grip on your sleek little compact camera

SECRET SUPPORT Joby GorillaPod Micro Tripod

Tabletop tripods are handy, but are yet another item you have to keep in your pocket or purse in case you need it. Not so with these clever little tripods. They can’t be lost because they’re designed to fold up neatly and unobtrusively along the bottom of your compact camera, interchangeable-lens compact camera, or even a light DSLR—remaining there even as you shoot handheld. And hey, this also eliminates the need to keep unscrewing and screwing them in!

What they do: Keeps a handy tabletop tripod tucked discreetly under your camera

SUPPORTING ROLE: Flashpoint Autopod Ultracompact Travel Tripod

If you've ever found yourself wishing for a tripod—to shoot sharply at a slow shutter speed, frame a subject precisely, or do multiple exposures for HDR—but hate carrying one around, our innovative Autopod is for you. It weighs just 12 ounces and folds down to a mere 11 inches long, small enough to fit inside your camera bag. Undo its Velcro strap and it pops open into a 41-inch high aluminum tripod, its five-section, shock-corded legs aligning themselves like tent poles, with no need for locks. The ballhead rotates 360 degrees and tilts 180 degrees, and can support compacts and ILCs.

What they do: Stabilizes your camera with an ultralight, ultracompact design that sets up almost instantly

A BETTER VIEW: Flashpoint Foldaway LCD Viewfinder

Using a DSLR's LCD screen for video is just fine—unless you're shooting in bright light. Bright light and reflections make the screen difficult to see clearly. The Flashpoint Foldaway LCD Viewfinder solves the problem by enclosing your DSLR's screen to block out the surrounding light. Much more affordable than competing products, it has a high-quality optical eyepiece that flips up for direct viewing of the screen and compact transport.

The eyepiece has two settings, one for full-frame viewing and one that magnifies the image 3X, valuable for accurate focusing with DSLR video.

HELLO DOLLY: Adorama Universal Tripod Dolly

Designed for shooting on a smooth surface, this compact tripod dolly spares you having to pick up the whole tripod and camera when you want to change position—you just roll it to where you want it. Yet it weighs just five pounds, and its leg supports fold up for compact storage in the supplied carrying case. The wheels are about three inches in diameter, made of metal with a nylon "tire"; they incorporate foot locks to keep the unit from rolling once you've chosen your spot. The dolly can also be used for video tracking shots provided the surface is smooth enough.

STEADY STATE: Adorama Beanbag

Why would you carry around a bag of beans (plastic pellets, actually) when you're shooting?

Because it can make your pictures sharper. Sometimes a puzzling lack of crispness in handheld photos is not due to incorrect focus or a crummy lens-it's caused by shaky hands. That's why photographers use tripods, to which the Adorama Beanbag is a more portable alternative.

Plop it down on a window sill or a tree branch and simply nestle your camera into it when you shoot. It even lets you safely set slow shutter speeds when you're photographing low-light subjects or creating special effects.

SENSE OF SELF: Flashpoint 21-inch Extender Monopod

Most snapshooters like to put themselves in their pictures. Even at arm's length, though, your camera may not fit your friends in with you.

Our telescoping aluminum extender stretches your reach, putting enough distance between you and the camera to include everyone, and even some of the background. It has four leg sections that give you an extra 21 inches, yet it retracts to a mere 8.5 inches and weighs about as much as a couple of candy bars. Your camera screws into a tiny ballhead that can be angled and locked to aim your shot. Also a great tool for shooting above a crowd-or around corners!

What it does: Gives you extra camera-to-subject distance for self-portraits; lets you shoot from above a surrounding crowd

READY ROSTRUM: Flashpoint Tripod Notebook Platform

When you're shooting in the great outdoors and it's time to offload your memory cards or check out your shots onscreen, don't sit on the cold, cold ground with a laptop in your lap.

Just set up your tripod and screw in this dandy device so you'll have a flat, stable surface for your computer. The black metal platform measures 10x14 inches and fits on standard ¼-20 or 3/8-thread tripod screws. A ballhead or three-way head will let you angle it to your liking. Just take along a Velcro strap to keep your laptop from sliding into a slot canyon.

What it does: Provides a stable, tripod-mounted platform for laptop use in the field

STICKY MATTER: microGAFFER tape

Studio and location photographers would have to shut up shop if it weren't for gaffer's tape.

It does things no piece of photographic hardware can do, whether clamp, clip, or thumbscrew. But the downside is that it comes in big, heavy rolls that are a nuisance to carry around. Enter microGAFFER-high-quality, professional cloth gaffer's tape made pocketable. Each roll is just an inch wide (vs. two inches for a standard roll) and measures less than 2.5 inches in diameter (vs. 6.5 inches). Those dimensions make a roll of microGAFFER small enough to slip into your pocket.

It comes in four-packs of white, gray, and black (two rolls), plus a fluorescent multicolor four-pack.

What it does: Provides trusty, tried-and-true gaffer's tape in a form you can actually stick in your pocket

POINTS OF LIGHT: Adorama 58 LED Bulb

Here's the perfect solution for shooting small subjects without the heat, harshness, or color cast of a tungsten light source.

Adorama's 58 LED Bulb screws into a standard household socket, but its illumination is provided by dozens of small, cool-burning LEDs (light-emitting diodes). Since the LEDs are spread over a wide area, the light is soft, and its color is much closer to daylight than that of the usual tungsten bulb, which can produce a brownish cast in your image. Operating on just four watts of power, it produces light equal to an 85-watt bulb.

WIDE WORLD: Pro Optic 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye

You don't have to go broke to get the wacky, dramatic look of fisheye photography. Designed for DSLRs with APS-C-sized sensors-meaning most popular models-Adorama's Pro Optic 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye costs a fraction of the price of comparable name-brand lenses.

That affordability doesn't come at the price of quality, either. The lens's computer-optimized, ten-element manual-focus design keeps your subject sharp across a full 180-degree angle of view. What's more, our 8mm fisheye's incredible depth of field makes focusing almost unnecessary-though if you're into extreme near-far composition, it can focus as close as a foot!

What it does: Gives you spectacular, dramatic fisheye distortion and extreme depth of field

COOL BRILLIANCE: Flashpoint Cool Light 4

Old-fashioned incandescent light has advantages over flash, but its down side is that the brighter it is, the hotter it gets.

Our daylight-balanced, flicker-free fluorescent source gives photographers powerful studio light without the heat. Four separately controlled 55-watt fluorescent lamps produce the combined equivalent of a whopping 900 watts of tungsten. (The unit also consumes much less electricity than hot light, and reduces the risk of fire.)

The Cool Light 4 is ideal for both portraiture and tabletop photography, giving photographers all the brightness they need for creative control of f-stop and shutter speed.

What it does: Delivers 900 watts of light (tungsten equivalent) without heat buildup, allowing more freedom with exposure settings

EASY DOES IT: Adorama Hands-Free Shoulder Support Bracket

Built-in image stabilization systems take the jitter out of stills and video, but can't keep your framing smooth and consistent.

Our shoulder support turns you into a human tripod, so that all your hands have to do is operate your DSLR or camcorder.

Resting on your shoulder and torso while strapped around your back, it incorporates a large platform that can be unlocked to swing horizontally; a supplied riser/quick release can be screwed into the platform for extra extension and height.

What it does: Provides hands-free support of your camcorder or DSLR for more comfortable, steadier shooting

Prices and availability of products are subject to change without notice. Taxes and shipping fees, where applicable, are additional and not included in cost of item. All sales made through the Adorama Bazaar are subject to Adorama's return policy. We make every effort to provide you with an error-free Web site. However, in the event there is a misprint, we reserve the right to correct copy or pricing to reflect the actual current status. For more information and extensive details of Adorama's terms and poliscies, visit our Frequently Asked Questions and Help Center.